Bottle protector and closure



Oct. 2, 1928.

F. S. JULIUS BOTTLE PROTECTOR AND CLOSURE Filed June 14, 1927 WITNESSESmama ca. 2, ieza V curiae snares FATE 686,238 @WWE- I rnnnnnrc s. wires,or rnmAnnLrnm,;rE1msLvmm; 4

I BOTTLE PROTECTOR AND. CLOSURE.

Application filed June 14, 1927. Seria1 No. 198,733.

i greater than that of the mouth. Asealing disc of aper or cardboard, ofsuch size as to snugly t the shoulder is uzed to seal the container andprevent loss of the contents or to prevent' contamination of thematerial contained. i

This prevailing practice is open to. numerous objections, chief amongwhich may be mentioned the following. That portion of the mouth overwhich the milk or other material must be poured is not protected at allby the present methods of sealing, and through handling or in otherways, this month portion becomes soiled or contaminated and thus mayreadily be the cause of disease transmission. Thetop of the containerbeing recessed to receive the disc, makes it also easy for dirt or 6other foreign material to collect on the disc,

and it is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent this contaminatingmaterial from gaining access to the contents of the bottle when the discis removed. Furthermore, the present sealing disc is frequently removedwith difliculty, and oftentimesthe milk or other material issplashed'upon ones clothes and other surrounding objects.

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide a novelprotectivedevice and closure member for use with milk bottles and likecontainers similar those described, which is simple and easily appliedand whichi .by its construction and natural resilience snugly fitsthe=mouth of the bottle, thereby eft'ectlvely preventing-contaminationof the upper portion of the mouth after the contai nsr has been filledand my new closure app 1e My new closure has the added advantage that itis easilyremovable without splashing of the container contents, althoughwhile in place it is as effective in sealing the container as theclosures known in the prior art, and it has the further property that itserves to protect the mouth of the container from chipping or breakage Iduring handling or transportation.

These objects are attained by the use of my new protective device inconnection with an ordinary disc closure, which is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1' represents in section anordinary milk bottle with my new combined closure and protective devicein place; Fig. 2 is a plan. View of the same; and Fig. 3 represents a'perspective View of H the protectiye member before being applied to abottle.

In the drawings 1 represents the upper porprotective device, which is.made from paper or cardboard or other suitable vmaterial, one

of the chief requirements being that-this material shall be resilient.As 'shown in vFig. 3,

this member is circular in form, but is not continuous, It is shaped to.the form shown in section in Fig. 1, wlierein 3 is a base portionwhich-rests snugly on thejannular shoulder, 4 being a continuation ofthe base 3, forming an upturned skirt or. wall conforming to the insideof the mouth of the bottle, and continuous with the hp 5, which snuglyoverlaps the bead 8, as shown in the drawings. Thus it is seen that thisprotective member closely conforms to the inside of the mouth and tothat portion thereof over which the contents must be poured. 1

According to the preferred practice of my invention, the protectivemember .10 is made of such size that when the free ends 11 just meet thediameter across the walls 4 is slightly greater than-that of the mouthportion intowhich it must fit. As will be pointed out more in detailhereinafter, the combined effect of the natural resilience of thematerial and this size feature, creates a. result which constltutes anessentialcharacteristic of my new protec tive device.

In the pr'acticeof my Invention, the protective device, initially .insomewhat ,the conit is composed lsresllient, stresses are set up withinit which tend to expand member.

After the member 10 has-been set in place. by forcing into position andoverlapping the ends 11, an ordinary sealing disc 6, is forced thisprotective into plaeein the usual manner so as to seat to overlap theends 11, as shdwn at 9. y

itself upon the base 3 of the protective memher, on the interiorshoulder, thereby sealing the container in the usual manner. A

It will be apparent that a double efiect is secured through making theprotective membottle having a. neck provided interiorly with 40 her ofresilient material and of somewhat greater diameter than the aperturewhich it is to fit. a The first efl'ect thus produced is to cause themember to expand again after being compressed to fit it into the bottle,thereby making it fit snugly into and over the mouth.

- The stresses due to the resilience also cause the protective member tohold itself firmly in thebottle, even when no closure disc has been putin place, and this feature. is in itself 'of considerable importance.

In order to remove the closure, it is only necessary to seizetheexteriorly overlapping end 11 and pull it upward, thus removing boththe member 10 and the disc 6 at once. Itwill be apparent at once thatthe overlapping skirt portion 5 effectively prevents contamination oftheupper pouring portion of the mouth, and also that any foreign materialwhich may have collected in the recessed portion will be unable to fallinto the container, since the protective member and disc are pulled outtogether;

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple and operation of my invention and have illustrated anddescribed what I now consider to represent its best embodiment.HoweverfI desire to have it understood that, within the scope of theappended claims, the invention may be practiced by other forms ofconstruction than that particularly illustrated anddescribed.

I claim: a 1. The combination with a milk or like an annular shoulder,of a discontinuous an-- nular mouth protector integrallyformed ofresilient material having a base resting upon said shoulder, a skirtrising from said base,

and a lip' extending outwardly from the upper edge of said skirt and.overlying the top of the bottle, the free ends of said protectoroverlapping each other, and the resiliency of the protector urging itsoverlapping ends yieldingly outwardly to hold the protector in snugengagement with the bottle.

'2. The combination with a milk or like bottle having a neck providedinteriorly with an annular shoulder, of a discontinuous annular mouthprotector integrally formed of resilient material having a base restingupon said shoulder a skirt rising from said base, a lip extendingoutwardly from the upper edge of said skirt and overlying the top ofshaped to fit the mouth of the bottle closely 65 the bottle, the freeends of said protector overresting lfpon the base portion of said mouthprotector. ,7 I 1 In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

FREDERIC s. JULIUS.

